Andover resident participating in Commonwealth Commitment program

Wednesday

Dec 27, 2017 at 12:18 PMDec 27, 2017 at 12:18 PM

Shannon Williams, a 2016 graduate of Andover High School, is one of the first students at Northern Essex Community College to participate in the state’s Commonwealth Commitment program, which gives students who start at a community college and transfer to a four-year college new tuition discounts.

Williams plans to earn an associate degree from NECC and then transfer to UMass-Lowell. As a participant in the state’s Commonwealth Commitment Program, she’ll earn her bachelor’s degree for under $35,000, maybe less, if she applies for and receives scholarships. Affordability was important to Williams when she was choosing a college. Her father died unexpectedly one month before her high school graduation and her mother had limited funding to help support her daughter’s college education.

“I was going to go to UMass-Lowell, but it was too expensive,” said Williams. “My older sister came to Northern Essex and then transferred to Merrimack College and my cousin graduated from here; so I decided to start here, too.”

Williams arrived at Northern Essex in the fall of 2016 with clear academic and career goals. She plans to earn an associate degree in psychology from Northern Essex in 2018, a bachelor’s degree in psychology from UMass-Lowell in 2020, and eventually a master’s degree in counseling, possibly from Merrimack College. Her goal is to be a therapist, helping people to overcome mental illnesses like depression.

“I love helping people,” said Williams.

When meeting with her academic advisor, Grace Young, Williams learned that her psychology major qualified for the Commonwealth Commitment, a statewide program designed to help students who transfer from a community college to a state college or university save money on their degree. The Commonwealth Commitment is open to full-time students who complete an associate’s degree within 2 1/2 years and a bachelor’s degree within two years and maintain a 3.0 GPA throughout the program.

These students receive cost savings including a freeze on tuition and mandatory fees for all four years and a 10 percent rebate at the successful completion of each semester. They also receive a MassTransfer tuition credit once they enroll in the bachelor’s degree program.

“I loved the idea of being locked into one price,” said Williams. “I won’t have to pay more, more, more.”

Williams, who will be inducted into the National Honors and Leadership Society, likes it at Northern Essex.

“I love it here,” said Williams. “I like how small the classes are. Teachers know my name and I can ask them questions.”

The Commonwealth Commitment covers 16 programs from biology to business to computer science and community college graduates can transfer to any of Massachusetts’ state universities or UMass campuses including Mass Maritime Academy and Mass College of Art.

To learn more, contact Grace Young, dean of academic support services, articulation and transfer, at gyoung@necc.mass.edu or 978 556-3449.